Holy Sepulchre, Holy Saturday

Crux, 15 April 2017

A recent, and long needed, restoration of the most sacred chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a small sign of the progress that has been made in the relationship among the Churches which control the shrine. This year - when Catholic and Orthodox Easter fall on the same day - Holy Saturday will be a busy day in the church.

Holy Saturday is the day of the tomb, and today, for the first time in seventy years, the tomb of Christ is no longer an embarrassment for Christians.

Or at least not as much of an embarrassment as it used to be. Which for the fractious Christians of Jerusalem is remarkable progress.

Last month the recent restoration of the Edicule - the chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built over the burial place of Christ - was completed. It was the first significant restoration work since 1810.